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| - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday said the putsch in Mali has so far not affected the UN peacekeeping mission in the West African country consisting of thousands of foreign troops, including German soldiers. "We condemn the military coup," Merkel told reporters in Berlin after talks with EU leaders by video conference, urging efforts "to find a political solution". Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was forced out of office on Tuesday after he and the prime minister were detained by rebel soldiers in the capital Bamako. Asked what impact the unrest might have on the United Nations' MINUSMA force, Merkel said "for now the putsch is not affecting" them. "The soldiers are in their barracks and the MINUSMA mission is far away from Bamako." Some 900 German troops are in Mali as part of MINUSMA, stationed mainly in the northern city of Gao, in what is considered one of the most dangerous foreign deployments for the German Bundeswehr. "Of course we are watching the situation very carefully. We are also in close contact with France," Merkel said. "At this time it has no effect on the activities of the soldiers. But we will do everything to guarantee their continued safety." UN peacekeepers deployed to Mali in July 2013, after jihadists seized much of the north of the country the previous year. MINUSMA now has 13,000 troops in Mali, while France has 5,100 soldiers as part of Operation Barkhane, its anti-jihad force in the Sahel. Despite the large presence of foreign troops, the conflict has engulfed the centre of Mali and spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger to the west. mfp/dlc/gd
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